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Here’s a look inside Crafted Kitchen. Beyond the stainless steel and commercial-grade equipment, this is where magic happens. This isn’t just a space for cooking; it’s a nurturing ground for dreams, camaraderie, and shared accomplishments. Imagine a group of culinary enthusiasts coming together, not just chefs and food entrepreneurs, but also product makers, consumer packaged…
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If it’s your goal to sell your product, in large quantities, to retailers and distributors, or if you have dreams of getting your product into the hands of more people, let’s get your product ready for wholesale. We’ve seen too many businesses enter the wholesale journey ill-prepared. Ultimately, that does more harm than good. There’s a…
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Mark Twain said, and I paraphrase, “If you need to eat a frog, eat it first thing in the morning, and if you have to eat two, eat the bigger one first.” If you’re working on your business, you’ve got to learn to do this…eat the frog. Here’s what it means: we all have things…
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Running a small food business involves the ability to balance your passion for your product with the pragmatism of being a business owner. At times, the need to increase prices, both wholesale and retail, is an unavoidable reality, so let’s look at some of the nuances of when and how. Step 1: Do you really…
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After years in the food industry, I’ve seen a lot of mistakes made by well-intentioned food entrepreneurs. I’ve made many myself. Here are 25 mistakes and suggestions for avoiding them. 1: Not thinking through the idea thoroughly enough. It’s not enough to have a great idea. In fact, that’s just the spark. For the spark…
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I have helped hundreds of food business entrepreneurs and now I want to help you make your food business dreams a reality. Whether you want to be successful at farmer’s markets, online or store shelves, we believe Crafted Kitchen (and this blog) is your secret ingredient. We can show you how to avoid an expensive…
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Wholesalers will ask for a lot (free cases, free fills, etc.) Have you been in negotiations with a new distributor and they’re asking for a 35% margin? Working with a co-packer and they want you to commit to 15,000 cases per run and, based on your data, you know you can’t sell that many units…
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Imagine you have a shop. If you sell your products only at that shop, that’s called single-channel. But what if you sell in the shop, online, and even at markets? That’s an omni-channel marketing strategy. Omni-Channel is the advanced version of multi-channel. It’s when you sell your product in many places, and it’s all connected.…
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You’re ready to start your packaged food business and now you have a lot of little loose ends to tie up. Let’s talk about profit margins and pricing for profitability. It’s critical to make sure that you price your product for profitability. There are four common mistakes that packaged food business entrepreneurs make when they…
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In the realm of small food businesses, the “Profit First” accounting method by Mike Michalowicz presents a paradigm shift in financial management. Let’s take a look at this innovative approach and its implications for your businesses. Traditional Accounting vs. “Profit First” Method Traditionally, profit emerges after expenses are deducted from revenue. However, the “Profit First”…
